Sindh rejects HEC’s decision to abolish two-year bachelors’ degrees

The Sindh and federal government are at odds over the Higher Education Commission’s new policy on abolishing two-year bachelors’ programmes across the country.

Last year, the commission had announced that two-year BA and BSc degrees will no longer be taught at universities in Pakistan.

Students enrolled in two-year programmes before December 31, 2018 will be allowed to complete their BA and BSc degrees until December 2020. However, those enrolled later will not be granted their degrees, a notification by the HEC read.

The Sindh government has, however, rejected this decision and has ordered varsities across the province to continue the two-year degrees. “More than 270,000 students will be unable to get degrees through this policy,” Adviser to Chief Minister on Universities and Boards Nisar Khuhro said.

Related: Explainer: What does HEC’s new Bachelors policy mean for students?

The Sindh government has also rejected HEC’s decision to allow students admissions in PhD programmes without a Masters or MPhil degree.

HEC abolishes two-year bachelors’ programmes

The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan has requested students not to take admissions in unauthorised two-year BA/BSc or MA/MSc programmes.

It said that only four-year degrees will be acceptable by the commission, citing that the discarded degrees will not enable students to apply for jobs or further education

Earlier this year, HEC said that the programmes should be replaced with a single, composite BS degree. It was decided that the last BA/BSc exam will be taken by December 31, 2020, and admissions for the last batch of MS/MSc will be taken before the date as well.

Here are the flexibilities it announced for students enrolled in the programmes given the coronavirus outbreak:

• Varsities have been given a “three-month grace period” until March 31, 2021 to conduct exams. These will be considered 2020 exams.
• The deadline for the final batch of MS/MSc has also been extended to March 31, 2021.
• BA/BSc degree holders can apply for admission for their third year, which is the 5th semester, subject to the completion of the previous semester and the course requirements by the university.
• Students who miss their deadline for MS/MSc can apply for their third year in a BS programme, which HEC has called a better option.
• Students just applying for the bachelor’s can either opt for the four-year programme or for the AD programmes